Breakingnewstravel report that there’s a new guide to the island from the official tourist board:

The Menorca Tourist Board has created a brand-new insiders travel guide to Menorca - revealing the natural, archeological, cultural, and gastronomic delights of one of the Med’s most pristine islands.

Easy to navigate and packed with tips from locals the guide will help holiday-makers decide where to stay, what to do and how best to experience this lesser-known Spanish island.

Boasting more than 200kms of coastline Menorca has almost as many beaches as Ibiza and Mallorca combined yet remains the most untouched and tranquil of all the Balearics.

Imagine a magical island with rugged caves and green rolling hills on one side, sandy beaches from where you can kayak round to hidden coves on the other. A paradise for nature lovers the island was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993, to conserve and protect both its natural habitats and strong cultural identity.

Visit S’Albufera des Grau wetlands to get up-close to turtles and migrating birds or explore the island’s distinctive barrancs (deep ravines and canyons which run from the central part of the island to coast), home to Peregrines, Egyptian vultures and booted eagles.

Whether you’re day-tripping from Mallorca or coming from the UK the guide covers all the essentials on how to reach the island and what to expect from the weather. Like your beaches wild or prefer the convenience of shops and restaurants? In-depth information on the beaches will match you to your perfect stretch of sand.

And if you’re wondering how you might fit in all the island’s attractions turn to the top tips and take your pick from sightseeing in the charming old port of Ciutadella to some snorkeling in the calm waters of the Bay of Fornells.

Or if that all sounds a bit energetic then dive into the food and drink section and find out about the island’s world-class gin and cheese producers and where to eat the local speciality dish of “caldereta de llagosta” or lobster stew.

For more information about the island including today’s Menorca weather visit yourmenorca.net

Not sure whether to book your holiday to Menorca or Majorca?

The Sunday Mirror has compared to the two and has come up with this advice:

Pale blue sky, deep blue sea, red-hot sun. And a perfect summer soundtrack dancing across the water from the speakers on our boat. We’re on the top deck of a beach-hopper called Fiesta, sailing slowly east along the south coast of Menorca.

As Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side fades into Otis Redding’s Dock Of The Bay, I take a sip of cold Estrella beer and gaze ahead to the pretty cove where the Fiesta is about to dock. And hope that if I ever get to heaven, it might be something just like this.

Four of us are on a Thomas Cook package to the Balearic island of Menorca, the quiet little sister to brash Ibiza and Majorca.

We’ve signed up for a Castaway Cruise, sailing from the west-coast port of Ciutadella at 10am and back at 5pm after visits to two idyllic beaches. The Û50pp ticket includes chicken paella plus helpings of sangria and pomada (gin and lemonade).

A day earlier we joined a Shop and Sail tour of the capital, Mahon (Û40pp). It was my birthday, so we forgot the shopping to enjoy a Cava-fuelled tapas lunch at Bracafe in Plaza Colon (www.bracafe.com, tapas Û3.50-Û8). After lunch we visited the Xoriguer gin distillery on the waterfront. Founded in the 18th Century to keep British sailors happy, they don’t bother showing how the gin is made… the tour cuts straight to the free samples (www.xoriguer.es).

Then it was a short stumble to the jetty for a boat tour of Mahon harbour, second largest in the world after Hawaii’s Pearl Harbour. All around are reminders of the 1708-1802 British occupation, from Admiral Collingwood’s house to the mansion where Lord Nelson romanced Lady Hamilton.

We’d gone all-inclusive at Hotel San Luis in S’Algar, and could have lazed away our week with drink on tap and an all-you-can eat buffet. About two-thirds of guests here are cheerful British over-60s who like to put their feet up. The bar closes at 11pm, so they’re sure of a good night’s sleep too.

But we wanted to see the island. We had a hire car and on a cloudy Sunday we drove to the upmarket harbour of Fornells. King Juan Carlos of Spain sails in here for lobster stew at El Plas restaurant on the waterfront… at Û75 a bowl. On Monday the sun finally got his hat on and we hit the beach at Cala En Porter, one of the best villages for Menorca holidays. To reach this scenic cove you walk down hundreds of steps from the town - or drive down a back road like us. After a swim in the crystal water we collapsed on to sun loungers (Û17 a day for two plus parasol).

The sun stayed out all week and we found a new beach to laze on every day. Our cruise took us to a tiny cove, Cala Turqueta, and a wide bay, Son Saura. The only facilities are basic loos, but the beaches are totally unspoilt. Like all secluded Menorcan beaches, full-on nudists mingle with regular sun-worshippers and one or two visions almost put us off our packed lunch!

We visited three-mile long Son Bou, a developed ribbon of sand with beach bars. And we tried busy Cala Santa Galdana, a large cove with top-class facilities, but too built-up for our taste.

We spent our last day on what turned out to be our favourite beach, Cala Mitjana. It’s impossibly pretty, totally sheltered, with walks along the wooded cliffs.

And with an iPod on shuffle, I created my own soundtrack to make the heavenly scene complete.

Majorca.. best for the buzz

There’s something they don’t tell you about Majorca. It has a town that can up sticks and move - houses, shops, churches the lot - in just a couple of minutes.

You’ll discover the secret if you take an hour-long trip on the historic electric train that trundles into the Sierra de Tramuntana mountains from the island’s capital, Palma.

One moment you’ll see your destination, Soller, in a bowl-shaped valley as you look out of the windows on your right.

Shortly afterwards it will be on your left. It appears the valley has been magically transported from one spot to another.

I spent a good few minutes looking puzzled as those with a quicker grasp of these things explained the town appears to move because of the way the narrow-gauge tracks snake their way round the mountains.

First you approach the valley one way, then you make a gradual turn and come back the other… so the view is reversed. Simples, as they say. (www.sollertrain.com, Û17 return).

Soller is famous for its orange groves and terraces of ancient olive trees and had a nice, laid-back, slightly arty feel. And there’s a cute tram that will take you the 3k down to the port, with a wonderful curved bay and all the cafes and restaurants you could wish.

It’s a popular area for Majorca villa holidays.

We Britons have long loved Majorca and it’s a sure favourite with many celebs and sports stars, from the likes of Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and to Patsy Palmer and tennis names Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal.

If you go you’ll find Palma city itself has plenty to keep you occupied. The place has a buzz which I liked - you got the feeling there is a lot going on.

I could easily have stayed longer, but wanted to see more of Majorca. So next morning we went south to the port of Colònia de Sant Jordi and took a 12-seat speedboat to Cabrera, one of the islands off the coast.

It was a lovely two-hour trip - once I’d got used to sitting astride a padded tube and clinging on. It was great swathing through the water and the sea was a lovely shade of blue… pretty well matching the colour of a couple of passengers after they’d dived in during a stop inside a cave. I’m told the water is beautifully warm later in summer, but one test of the temperature when we were there and I decided my teeth didn’t need reminding of how to chatter (www.marcabrera.com, adults Û38, under-12s Û30).

Afterwards we stopped off at the Jaume Mesquida winery in Porreres. They make 200,000 bottles a year and use “biodynamic methods” meaning they are nature-friendly (www.jaumemesquida.com). We were meant to be doing more sightseeing, but the lure of our pools at the Hotel Hilton Sa Torre was too strong. It’s a lovely place in what seems the middle of nowhere… but is an easy 16k from Palma Airport and Majorca flights home.

To read the full article click here

The Coventry Telegraph have run a good article about the island, and comment:

MINORCA is quite simply a Spanish treasure trove of natural beauty, a place to take a relaxed and unhurried approach.

Located in the centre of the western Med, it has more beaches than its Balearic bigger sisters, Majorca and Ibiza combined.

As we travelled by coach to the hotel I was quick to notice its quiet bays of soft sands and overjoyed when I found one right next to where I was staying – the Audax Spa and Wellness Centre – which sits on a pine-clad hillside, in Cala Galdana, in the south of the island.

Over the years, Minorca has become successful in avoiding the effects of becoming a tourist-stricken land mass. Instead it has kept its lush greenery and natural splendour.

The modest island is sprinkled with shimmering harbours, solitary coves snuggled between cliffs and relaxing walking trails. But that’s just a taster of a much bigger picture.

The first leg of the trip began in the eastern part of the island, the Port of Mahon, which is one of the deepest natural harbours in the world.

To read the full article click here

The number of property sales in Menorca and the other Balearic Islands has slowed down - no surprise there.

Majorca has seen a 50 per cent drop.

Here is an extract from the article we saw at the movechannel:

Long a favourite with the rich and famous, Mallorca is traditionally the most popular of the Balearic Islands.

Stunning coastlines and months of mellow sunshine provide the perfect backdrop to its role as the super yacht hub of the western Mediterranean. The true jewel in the crown is the capital city of Palma which offers a far more cosmopolitan and cultural twist that most holiday hotpots.

The other Balearic Islands, namely Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, are also popular with holidaymakers and investors and, according to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, the number of foreigners living in the Balearics rose by a whopping 17.2 per cent last year.

More than 32,000 foreigners arrived to set up home on one of the islands last year, with Germans heading up the exodus. German nationals now account for the largest single group of immigrants to the Balearics, swiftly followed by Brits, Moroccans and Italian citizens.

Mallorca’s stunning capital city of Palma is the most populous town, followed by Calvia, where over 33 per cent of residents are foreign. Ibiza Town came in third place with 11,604 foreigners, or almost a quarter of its inhabitants.

But, local estate agent Engel & Volkers which specialize in selling luxury second homes, said that Mallorca endured one of the most challenging financial quarters at the end of last year.

To read more click here